


Elsewhere

by TheLadyMuse



Series: Familiaris [1]
Category: Alternate Batman, Young Justice
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-28 00:53:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8424313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyMuse/pseuds/TheLadyMuse
Summary: Bruce goes about Jason the wrong way, I think. Someone tries to make him get with it by dropping hints- by pulling in the members of an alternate Bat Clan, where everyone is some flavour of happier than the shit JLU/YJ tries to feed us. and my burning hatred of Diana has been toned down.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> At present, it is complete. However, I'm thinking about a project where young heroines end up falling in love with older heroes- through no fault of their own. At present, the only ones on the board are:
> 
> Jason Todd/Helena Wayne  
> Tony Stark/ Torunn Thorsdottir  
> Amara Todd (timeshifted daughter of Jason and Atalanta)/Damian Wayne
> 
> YES, I'M OBSESSED WITH JASON. GET OVER IT, HE'S HOT. For, you know, a comic character.

When Dick Grayson was seventeen, he caught a glimpse of another world. He landed with a thump at the feet of a young girl in a purple costume. Arms crossed over her chest, the five-year-old stared down at him and his teammates, scattered over the floor of the Batcave, and she screeched

“Help!”

A lanky teenage boy, dressed in a grey suit with a red bat on his chest, a red domino mask on his face and a leather jacket hanging from his shoulders, dashed into the Cave, followed by Batman and Catwoman. Another Nightwing dropped from the rafters as two Robins- one in red, a black cape down his back, the other in green and black with a yellow cape- came barrelling in from the Batmobile entrance.

The first boy swooped in to grab the girl, scowling fiercely as he settled the toddler on an angular hip. She clasped his neck and pointed

“They scared me!” Bats growled

“Take her.” The boy nodded, replying

“Understood.” Before dashing away, tailed by the two Robins. The blue and black man watched carefully as the new Nightwing crumpled, staring after the eldest of the disappearing children.

“J-Jason?” Batman twitched, then barked

“How old are you, Nightwing?” Dick choked out

“Se-seventeen. Jason, he-” Catwoman clucked her tongue and said warningly

“He’s known as Red Hawk here.” Dick gasped for air before he blurted

“He died, where we come from.” A frown on Nightwing’s face, before he told his counterpart gently

“He died here too. There’s hope for you though, because he rose from his grave, he didn’t die and get resuscItated. Your Jason is out there somewhere.” Dick nodded, cursing when he felt the same anomaly that had deposited him at the feet of Bruce’s daughter roll through him again.

Batman said pointedly

“If we meet again, I will ask you about your Jason.”

The words are significant, he knows, but for the life of him, Dick can’t realize why too dizzy to do more than tell Bruce what happened before he passes out.

** ELSEWHERE **

After Wally has been rescued from the Speed Force, and while Bruce is trying to figure out how to bring home Jason and integrate newly found Helena into the family, another Batman is plopped onto the table in the Watchtower meeting room.

Nightwing tilts his head and asks the grumbling man

“Batman?” The new Batman, different from this one only by the fact he is clutching a leather jacket in his hand, looks up to ask

“Jason?” Nightwing’s lenses widen and he reports

“Known, alive, and disagreeing about if he has a home.” Batman groaned, rolling off the table before he stretches, and introduces himself to the other Leaguers idly

“Batman of a universe where I married Catwoman.” Dick notices Diana staring and asks his mentors’ counterpart

“Uh, Bats, got any tips for-” He pauses when the other man flicks his gaze around, locking on Zatanna and Babs, smirking, the Batman teases

“I thought I had it bad when my daughter fell in love with my ward.” Dick chokes on air, calculating the possibilities before Batman advised in a low voice

“Stay single until you know who you need to your dying breath. It’s a Bat maneuver, but it works.”

That… Makes Dick wonder. Who could Bruce’s daughter- obviously their Helena- have fallen in love with? Not Damian, because he had said ‘ward’, so that left him, Tim and Jason.

Helena’s  _ fourteen.  _ Tim’s twenty, Jason is twenty-four and he’s just passed twenty-eight. So, probably not him. Tim’s pretty serious about Cass, since Stephanie had left Gotham after a mutual break up. Jason?

Nightwing goes beet red when he realizes he voiced the question. Bruce side-eyes him, and Batman sighs, before saying tiredly

“From my estimate, we’re two years ahead of you, timeline wise. Jason’s been home for about a year and half, and he didn’t come home until after Helena got a dose of Poison Ivy’s ugliest pollen and needed his help to recover. He almost left when she was better, but she convinced him to stay. He’s refusing to stay full time until she’s older, though.”

Bruce and Dick both wince. Deadly horniness is nothing to laugh at. Clearing his throat, Bruce asks

“She’s happy, though?” Batman rolled his shoulders and muttered

“They’re trying to do it for real, which is good, but I could do without her pouting about what he will and won’t do.” Bruce and Dick go green with nausea and relief. 

Jason won’t hurt Helena, if they begin something in this universe, but she’ll whine about him doing the right thing. And Jason and Helena and a bed… No. No, no, no, no, no, NO! Not fucking going there.

Shaking his head and wishing for brain bleach, Dick sees that Batman’s body is wavering. He notes casually

“I guess your time is up.” Batman shrugged and replied

“Nearly. I think someone’s trying to tell you something.”

That, Bruce dismisses.

A few months later, he wishes he hadn’t.

** ELSEWHERE **

Helena and Bruce were arguing in the Cave, while Damian sat at the computer and and muttered under his breath in Arabic. Tim and Dick were fiddling with their equipment while Jason lounged insolently as Alfred patched up grazes on his chest. It was a rare moment when they were all together, except Catwoman, and Helena was arguing over whether she should return to patrol.

It was as he mused that Helena was pissed that Jason was hurt that Dick felt a ripple in his gut.  _ Shit.  _ As Jason opened his mouth, the floor fell away to drop them in the sitting room of Wayne Manor, a yelp of surprise and the tinkling of crashing china alerting them to a presence.

Dick felt his hackles lower when he saw it was a slightly older Helena, then rise again when he realized she was heavily pregnant, like  _ full term _ . Before he could do anymore, a man rushed into the room, oblivious to the visitors as he landed on his knees beside Helena, barely clear of the shards of the teacup she’d been holding.

That man… was the reason the description ‘built like a brick shithouse’ had been invented. He was tall, broad and black haired, blue-green eyes flashing as he took in the Bat Clan and their butler. Dressed in loose grey pants, barefoot with his feet and wrists taped, twenty-eight-year-old Jason Todd is much more intimidating than Red Hood in all his leathery glory.

“Give me a reason not to fucking eviscerate you for scaring her.” Words rasped out in a gritty voice, a large hand sliding over future-Helena’s much-distended abdomen. She leaned her head against his shoulder and murmured

“Jason.” Eyes softening, future-Jason called over his shoulder

“Oi, get in here!” Older versions of the Bat Clan, and Alfred strolled in, grimacing as they took in their younger alternates. Future-Bruce pinched his nose, nodding when ason seated Helena, ,making a face when she squirmed into Jason’s lap. Future-Alfred tidied up, asking Helena a few questions before smiling reassuringly at a worried Jason.

Future-Bruce waved the others away from the trio, taunting his younger self jovially

“Guess someone really wants you to get the message across.” Helena winced before she asked

“How- Why-” Future-Helena called tiredly

“You know how. You can’t be a teenager in Gotham and not. As for why-” She grimaced, turning her face into Jason’s neck, whimpering when her belly rippled. He spoke in a low, calm voice, rubbing her back gently. Future-Helena explained

“Braxton-Hicks, they get worse as the baby gets bigger. As I was saying, the  _ why  _ has been confusing all Gotham. See, Jason had to go undercover to get the drop on a crime ring, so he went back to being the Red Hood. I told him before he went, that, uh-” She paused as another contraction ripped through her body. She panted through the contraction, not seeing the way future-Jason hung his head against her shoulder. Future-Helena sighed and huffed

“I hate false labor!” She grumbled at the man holding her before she finished her explanation

“Setting myself up for the Red Hood as Huntress bought him some cred, but not enough. I told him that if he needed something else, he could abduct my civilian persona, because I did- and do- trust him with my life. I knew what he’d have to do, so I made preparations, but they didn’t hold up, which is why I ended up like this.” Helena approached carefully, looking awed.

“You knew what could happen, and you still did it?” Future-Helena gripped future-Jason’s hand and nodded, quipping

“I knew the kid was going to be huge, too, but I couldn’t let it go.” Helena squeaked

“Huge? How big-” Future-Helena grinned, eyes softening when future-Jason buried his face in her neck. Still smiling, the eighteen year old confided

“Jason’s nearly as big as Dad, so I was pretty sure the kid would be at least nine pounds, but we’re looking at closer to eleven.” Helena was wide eyed, watching as future-Jason pulled her future self closer still. Carefully, future-Helena looked her younger counterpart in the eye and levered herself out of future-Jason’s lap, standing to rest her hands on the other girl's shoulders and speak firmly

“Hey. I knew what I was I doing, knew what the possible consequences would be.  _ I  _ made the decision that if Jason was willing to do something so risky, I could risk my own neck. I was aware that there was probably going to be problems, that Jason couldn’t remain with me at all times, that my precautions might not do what I needed them to.  _ I  _ made the decision to keep the kid when I realized I was pregnant, in the window I had to get rid of it. You aren’t me, and the Jason you know isn’t the one who I gave myself to. You have your own decisions to make, and I don’t know who thinks showing you one of infinite futures is a good idea, but know this: Jason is worth it.” Damian snorted, glaring when his future self elbowed him. Future-Helena switched her gaze from her younger counterpart to the younger Jason and repeated

“Worth every moment, Jason. No matter the world you inhabit.” Future-Jason rose on heavy feet, scooping future-Helena into his arms before shooting over his shoulder as he walked away

“She can be a brat, but she’s right. She’s worth every moment, especially for gutter rats like us.”

Bruce watched in a daze as his second son carted away his daughter, trying in vain to process what he’d seen when the floor wavered again. With a muttered curse, he fell through the floor again, this time into his own Manor sitting room.

Jason was still shellshocked, so when Helena put her hands on her hips and demanded

“What did he mean, gutter rats? You’re  _ Jason,  _ not a rat!” The poor man collapsed into laughter, wincing when he pulled his stitches. Shaking his head, Bruce walked away to consider what he’d seen. Would something like this happen again?

** ELSEWHERE **

It did, by the by. Jason and Helena’s sons met up on parallel missions ten years after the one on this side was born, freaking out everyone but both Damian's, the team leaders.


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this is kind of a future look at Elsewhere. Somewhere along the line, Jason and Helena did as their alternates did: they played out a charade, and then this happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be perfectly clear: I am not advocating teen pregnancy. If you want to know the precautions Helena took, and that failed, prompts or questions are conducive to writing, even if it takes a while. This is a tad abrupt, because it's meant to be read as Helena feels, while maintaining a touch of omniscience.

The League knows better than to malign others, all others. Or they should.

**ELSEWHERE**

Huntress stalked out of the common room that had been commandeered for the team’s ‘girls night’, a seething whirl of fury. _How dare they!_ Maligning Jason! Her fury petered out as she realized they didn’t know. Didn’t know he’d done as she had pleaded, and begged, and forced her father to command.

Fury rising anew when she overheard one of the older heroes warn a couple of new recruits away from her, the once again seething Helena Wayne stormed the meeting room reserved for the founding seven, their proteges and the most senior members. She ignored the sounds of the females on her heels and slammed her fists on the table, roaring

“You will brief the League on my last op, or I will!” Her father’s lenses drew together. Few knew she was the bastard daughter of Batman, just as she was Bruce Wayne. They’d kept it quiet so she and her mother wouldn’t be targeted, but she was fed up. Before her father could say anything she continued

“He did what was necessary, I gave him what he needed to _survive,_ and they scorn him as they tiptoe around me! I’ve had it. I can’t live like this, I’ll leave the League, and take the others with me!”

As she panted, Batman’s voice came out measured.

“Cancel all League and Team ops, everyone, from the most senior founder to the greenest recruit, will report for a priority briefing on a recent Batclan  op. Huntress, Red Hawk is with his brothers, and I expect you to talk to him, if not all of them.”

Huntress drew herself up and and said calmly

“Understood. I’ll be at the briefing.” Batman’s mouth turned down in displeasure when his daughter turned away, snarling at the other occupants of the room

“Go!” When the other founders sat and stared.

The women who had heard Helena’s roar and Batman’s order followed her to the lounge that the Bat Clan had appropriated. Nightwing and Red Hawk had claimed they needed space for the Batclan to meet outside the Batcave.

Huntress stormed in, dropping into Red Hawk’s lap like it belonged to her. That… was new, to Helena’s ‘friends’ anyway. She whispered in his ear, before turning to the others and saying shortly

“Batman’s called an ops briefing because I went batshit when the girl scouts misspoke about my last mission.” Nightwing growled, Red Robin frowned, and Robin looked over at the doorway to snarl

“Leave us be! We must soothe our sister’s hurt.”

Helena definitely looked hurt, the way she curled into Jason’s chest, the way Nightwing was cooing to her, while the Robins looked angry. When they had turned their backs, the girls didn’t see the smirk on Huntress’s face, because Dick, Damian and Tim left behind them.

Left alone, the pair were quiet. Helena broke the quiet when she asked

“Jason. Do you remember the last time we saw those other versions of us?” He nodded, gloved fingers combing through her hair.

“Yeah. Nearly gave me a heart attack.” Helena chuckled, and then she finally spoke again

“I never knew I could trust someone like that. That Helena trusted her Jason with her pain, and her happiness, and I never knew anyone could make me do that, make me want to do that. I’m like Dad that way, I don’t trust anyone, and for it to be someone like you, Jay, it blows me away.” Jason shook his head and replied quietly

“Like me?” She hummed before explaining

“You’re a survivor, and so strong, so brave, I had a few doubts when we returned, but then you blew every single one out of the water before we even went on that mission. I- That Helena was right. You’re worth everything, no matter your origin.”

Sighing, Jason went to refute her claims, before he stopped, and thought about it. After that hellish operation to bring down an international crime ring, Helena had refused to leave his side, curling into him at every chance. He’d put it down to Stockholm syndrome and tried to give her space, only to have her tear him a new one. He had examined himself and found that yeah, he did love her. Enough to let her go.

He’d tried to tell her before. Bastard or not, she was the daughter of Bruce Wayne, a decade his junior, and so damn beautiful it almost made his heart stop. Tim was better for her, all around, or Dick, with his easy charm and nearly infinite fuse, despite being years older than even Jason. Jason was from the wrong side of town, a thief, murderer and foul tempered son of a bitch. What the hell could he offer her?

Helena looked at Jason tenderly, well used to his brooding. Pressing a kiss to his clean shaven cheek, she whispered

“Oh, baby, you’re everything to me, you know that, but… how would you feel about sharing me?” An intricate red domino mask did not conceal Jason’s surprise.

“You’re-” He breathed, swallowing before he bent to kiss her. She laughed into his kiss, breaking away with a smile on her face as she declared

“I am so happy it’s you, Jason!” He chuckled, scooping her against his chest before he tapped his communicator and said calmly

“This is Red Hawk, calling the Bat clan. I have news, swing by the Commons before the briefing.”

**ELSEWHERE**

Batman grabbed Shayera’s elbow before proceeding to the lounge, earning raised eyebrows from everyone except a grinning Catwoman. Nightwing and the Robins cackled and giggled as they beat a retreat to the news they were sure they were going to get.

The group came upon Jason kissing Helena fiercely as she giggled, undulating in his grip from where she stood. Jason looked up and jerked his head, keeping an arm around Helena. Batman closed the door and asked carefully

“It’s that time?” Red Hawk grinned, Helena breaking in helpfully

“Yes, we’re pregnant.” Shayera eyed them with confusion, before Huntress came forward and asked carefully

“I know we’re not especially close, Hawkgirl, but Red Hawk and I agreed that we wanted a Hawk to watch out for our fledgling when we had one. Will you be godmother? We haven’t chosen a godfather yet, but that’s probably Dick.” Dick grinned as Shayera teared up

“Really?” The winged woman asked, chuckling when Jason put in

“We weren’t going to ask Wonder Woman, were we?” Batman broke in pointedly

“That means you’re a Bat, now, Shayera.” The redhead grinned, and shot back

“No problem, Batman!”

The now expanded Batclan trooped down the halls to the Watchtower, silent now that their jubilation could no longer be shown. Once in the meeting hall, Batman strode onto the platform at one end of the room, not bothering to call for quiet in the crowded hall. Selina, dick, Jason, Tim, Damian and Helena, Shayera a step behind them, walked to form a semicircle on the floor in front of Batman, each standing before their leader.

Batman cleared his throat, the hall quieted when he spoke

“We are called the ‘Bat Clan’, hailed as heroes, and yet, there are still awful choices to make, lives we cannot save. Red Hawk, your report?” Red Hawk stepped forward from his position and intoned

“I went undercover to destroy the Carapuccio crime syndicate, using my old alias of Red Hood to infiltrate. The entire operation took a year and three months, ending in the entire syndicate going behind bars.” Batman nodded, then spoke a tad softer when he demanded

“Your report, Huntress?” Flicking a glance at Jason, Helena stood her ground and reported easily

“To buy street cred for the Red Hood, I ordered Red Hawk to stage my rape, and later, when he was going crazy with all the lies he had to tell, the wrongs he perpetrated to get an in with syndicate, I ordered, begged, pleaded and finally forced you to order Red Hawk to abduct my civilian identity so there would be someone he could rely on nearby.”

Every person in the cramped hall was startled. Huntress had been complicit in her own kidnapping? In her own rape? Not just complicit, but the person who drove the idea? And Jason had gone along with it?

Although that seemed farfetched, Batman didn’t say anything. He flicked his hand to the side, the rest of the Batclan rising together Shayera a beat behind. Bruce jumped down from the platform before announcing gruffly

  
“We’re needed in Gotham. Hawkgirl needs to learn the ropes, now that she’s Bat clan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About Shayera: she’s not really a Meta if she was born with wings, so I decided that, since, John Stewart’s being a dickhead about Shayera, she could borrow the Batfam’s security for a bit. 
> 
> Familia: Although the storylines are similar, the only ‘clan’ here is the Batclan. Familia is a little more sprawling, a little denser when it comes to layers.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to reach 100,000 words by December. Prompts, ideas, trivia?


End file.
